2. The hope

After listening to Louis' story, Kyle quietly sighed: "So you had to borrow money from Mr. Joe to pay for your younger brother's hospital bills. I'm so sorry to hear that your brother couldn't live on this money. Indeed, you are much more miserable than me, but you never told me before. Don't you consider me a friend?"

Louis swallowed a mouthful of saliva and looked up at the ceiling: “In this Happy Hill pub, is there anyone who doesn't suffer? Everyone has their own story. If I tell you my sad story, you will have more problems to worry about. That's the thing I don't want to do!"

Kyle quietly nodded and smiled gently: "But it's not good for you to keep it in your heart, as long as you find someone close to confide in. I'm sure that your sadness is alleviated at that time, and people who hear your story sometimes won't be sad because of that story. On the contrary, sometimes they can even think of a solution for you!"

Louis smiled: "Really?"

Kyle put his arm around Louis' shoulder and confidently said: "You only owe Mr. Joe a million dollars. What ensures this money will not be earned by you in ten years? Just show off pitifully and beg Mr. Joe not to charge interest, I believe that you can return this money to him soon!"

Louis snorted with a small smile: “You talk like it's so easy to earn these figures! When I need to earn a million dollars in ten years, I need to earn one hundred thousand dollars every year, and that means I must earn nearly ten thousand dollars every single month. Don't forget that I am working for free at Happy Hill because I owe Mr. Joe!”

Kyle then said: "What about tips from your p*****n?"

Louis thoughtfully said: “I think you know… Essentially, I don't please them as they expect. Besides serving them to pour wine, bringing beer, and talking to them for a few sentences, I don't do other things. Then why do they tip me so much money?"

Kyle also nodded: “That's right! In this Happy Hill pub, if the waiter wants to make a lot of money, he must satisfy the guests. In addition to serving them drinking, he also has to let them feel free to touch him. Wanting to have more money, he can strip off in front of them, letting them kiss him. Finally, the thing that he can do to make the most money, and also the most humiliating thing, is… to sleep with the guests!”

Kyle said that before approaching Louis and whispered: "But Louis, actually, I rarely sell myself to the guests. I only allow them to kiss and touch me if they really want, but I can still make a lot of money. Do you know why?”

Louis was a bit puzzled, and he heard Kyle's soft voice: "Because I've learned to find out what the most essential thing a guest needs is. For those who came here just to satisfy their desires, I could soon see through this easily, so I decided not to serve them. But for others, it's a different story. Some people are highly educated but come to this dirty place themselves because their business partners see this pub as a place to meet. For such people, if you are too skittish, you'll make yourself feel humiliated. Such people just need us to understand sitting next to him, obediently pouring wine and serving food, occasionally glancing at him with a few laughs, tenderly letting him put his arm around our waist, like a docile kitten flattering his owner. That is enough!”

Louis looked at Kyle's satisfied face and asked with some concern: "You have just said that you "rarely" sell yourself to the guest, but not "never", which means you sometimes sell yourself. If you already know how to earn money without doing that, why are you willing to dirty your body?”

Kyle leaned his head against the wall, wandered for a moment, then gently raised his wrist in front of his face: “This scar has been around for a long time but still cannot fade, the scar in my heart is the same! So, in times of weakness, I need a strong arm to help me forget the past. Even though they don't have any feelings for me, they still don't give me fake love! I just see this as a pain reliever, which not only can help me forget about sad things but can also bring me some benefits!”

Louis swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said softly: "In my opinion, if you can already guess other people's minds, you can just earn money based on that. To receive these dirty dollars, you must not only exchange your honor but sometimes also your health and life! Do you know how to protect your body?”

After listening to this, Kyle felt a little warm, then replied softly: "You care about me?"

Louis laughed: "Aren't we friends? It's normal for friends to care about each other!"

Kyle sighed and nodded: “Of course, I know how to protect my body. In addition, there is only one person who makes me agree to spend the night with him, the nightclub singer..."

When Louis heard that he had also thought deeply, Kyle continued to smile and say: "If I can earn enough money to ransom you out of Happy Hill ten years from now, will you follow me to sell orange juice?"

Louis smiled slightly: "As long as you have enough money to ransom me from Happy Hill, that means you buy me from Mr. Joe, I have to follow you!"

Kyle laughed: "Wait until then, my orange juice stall will be crowded!"

Louis smiled and looked at Kyle, unconsciously seeing that Kyle's eyes were full of hope, they sparkled like fireflies in the night sky, like thousands of stars in the sky twinkling...

That morning, Terry woke up early as planned. He quickly completed his personal sanitary work to catch the bus at 6 am. Right now, Louis still hasn't come home from work.

The blue light outside made the dewdrops left on the grass more sparkling, and this bustling city also began to wake up. A green bus slowly approached, stopping in front of the bus stop dotted with a few people.

Looking down from the bus, Terry could see the street vendors preparing their stalls. Their eyes are full of hardship, but somewhere there is also a glimmer of hope, hoping that today will be a good business day.

There was an old man sitting at the corner of the intersection, quietly arranging the donuts on his shelf. Her face was imprinted with years, and her hair had turned a silver color and swayed slightly in the wind.

Seeing the old woman nestled in the corner of the busy street, Terry suddenly remembered his grandmother. In a little while, he could see her again...

Terry was not Louis's younger brother. He came from a coastal fishing village, and he went to this city to find work. However, because he didn't have a degree, Terry couldn't find a job on the first day. At that time, Terry had no money and no place to stay, so he was about to sleep at the foot of the bridge. Fortunately, he met Louis - a kind person who took him home. Perhaps Louis wanted a brother in the house to replace the younger brother who died many years ago.

After a long journey on the bus, Terry finally arrived at Hope Hospital. The fresh flowers in front of the hospital gate were very colorful, and the air here was very cool. Following a known path, Terry hurried toward his sister's hospital room.

When he entered room 111, his sister, Stella, was still fast asleep. Perhaps it was due to the disease in her body, so she felt extremely tired. Terry recalled the days before when she was healthy, Stella was the first person to get up early in the house, helping her grandmother with all the housework, but now she is lying on the hospital bed, with a pitiful and poor appearance!"

Grandma saw Terry's appearance and was very happy, but she was afraid that she would wake Stella, so she took Terry's hand and walked out. There was a row of blue chairs in the hallway, and as soon as Terry sat down, he hugged his grandmother: “I miss you so much!”

The scent on his grandmother's worn-out shirt is still as fragrant and familiar as ever. She gently stroked Terry's hair, kissed him lightly on the forehead for a long time, and then said softly: "I also miss and worry about you very much, my child. Yesterday, our neighbor came up here to visit Stella and told us you had found a job and a place to live on the outskirts. I was very happy after hearing that, but I don't know if the place where you are working is difficult? Is that place safe? This city is bustling and very complicated."

Terry immediately wiped his tears and shook his head: "There are not only bad people in this city but also good people. I was lucky to meet a good friend. He let me stay in his room for free. My job is also quite good, so I can earn money to help with Stella's hospital bills!"

Grandma nodded happily and said: “That's great! Luckily, this time Stella was also lucky enough to have a sponsor pay her hospital bill. Otherwise, we wouldn't have enough money to pay the bill…”

Terry nodded thoughtfully: "My wage is not enough compared to Stella's hospital bills. But my friend said that there are many benefactors with kind hearts here. I'll try to find someone to help with the rest of the hospital bills!"

Grandma nodded, making tears fall from her eyelids onto her wrinkled hands, her lips quivering: "Grandma hopes that God can bless Stella's early recovery. She was too pitiful…”

Terry looked at his grandmother sympathetically like that, of course, deeply heartbroken, so he held her hand tightly: "Don't worry! God will not betray honest people! But Grandma also needs to take care of your health because I see you seem to be getting sick these days!"

When Grandma heard that, she gently wiped her tears: "The past few days, Grandma has been worried about Stella's hospital bills, so I have been unable to sleep. Now hearing your good news, as well as being helped by sponsors, Grandma will definitely eat and sleep well!"

After hearing this, Terry nodded and hugged his grandmother again. Stella also woke up then. Terry stayed with his grandmother and sister until about 7:30, then left because he needed to return to the outskirts to work on time.

When they parted, Terry did not forget to say that he would come here every weekend to visit Stella and his grandmother, telling them to take care of their health.

The bus left Hope Hospital, and Terry's heart was in turmoil, but there was still a glimmer of hope. The light above also began to be blue. There was not a single cloud in it, making the sky higher and wider, like hope in Terry's heart.